BC Refugees Blog

I just finished Archia Comics' Jim Henson's Tale of Sand HC , based on an unsold screenplay by Henson and his screenwriting partner Jerry Juhl, and I'm not sure what to make of it. It turns out that Henson had a bit of a screenwriting career in the pre-Muppet '60s, specializing in live-action surrealism. After an Oscar-nominated short film and an hour-long drama for NBC, "Tale of Sand" was his feature-length vision for this sort of thing but he was unable to sell it in the early '70s. Once the "The Muppet Show" and Henson's unfortunate early death came along, there was never time to go back to it. It's hard for me to imagine how this could have been successful as a movie. The main character spends the story being chased across the Western US desert and encountering machine-gun nests, lions, speakeasys, sharks, shieks, and a college football team, just to name a few. Which is great, but to me it never paid off in any significant way....

As an original Milestone Comics fan, I really wanted DC's New 52 version of "Static Shock" to succeed. I mused a little bit about why it failed in a comment here last week, and I was planning to expand that into something longer after talking about it in The Comic Book Shop over the weekend, but  DC Women Kicking Ass beat me to it . I highly recommend her analysis, including an obvious point about Ultimate Spider-Man that I had entirely overlooked. Also check out John Rozum's blog, where today he gave  a more detailed account of why he quit the book  than is quoted in the DCWKA article.

Three creators from the surrounding area celebrate their recent success with a signing event at Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware . . . . . How many of us know incredibly talented and creative artists who never follow up on their dreams, or get to bring their worthy projects to full fruition?  In many cases it boils down to a lack of funds.  Sometimes its’ the fear of losing money or worry that they may only break even instead of making just a modest profit in exchange for their investment of time, money and effort.  What if a creator could raise their financial needs in advance of their  project completion, simply by using a fund-raising campaign and giving value back to donors in exchange for their trust and faith?  Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, writes that Kickstarter is an “online threshold pledge system” for funding creative projects ranging from inde film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects”...

We all knew it was coming--DC's teased us with it for months now. We had details on one book and hints on another, but to have a fully planned six-book lineup, with fairly impressive creative teams and a distinct purpose for each title? I have to applaud DC here, because I'm interested in each of these new titles. Batman Incorporated was the one title we all knew would be back, from interviews, announcements and even the teaser at the end of the recent oversized one-shot, Leviathan Strikes. Grant Morrison returns to finish his Batman epic, while Chris Burnham continues his path to superstardom as the sole artist on this twelve-issue run. It's probably worth noting that that series, however, is now billed as ongoing--even if Morrison leaves after the first year, it wouldn't surprise me if sales keep the title going, the same way Tomasi is now helming Batman and Robin, Morrison's previous vehicle for the franchise. Creative team details aside, Batman Incorporate...

It's hard to articulate what Daytripper, a masterpiece by twin brothers Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, is about. The back cover copy says: Meet Bras de Oliva Domingos.  The miracle child of a world-famous Brazilian writer, Bras spends his days penning other people’s obituaries and his nights dreaming of becoming a successful author himself — writing the end of other people’s stories, while his own has barely begun. Each day in Bras’ life is like a page from a book.  Each one reveals the people and things who have made him who he is:  his mother and father, his child and his best friend, his first love and the love of his life.  And like all great stories, each day has a twist he’ll never see coming… Fabio Moon says it's about "quiet moments...what you can tell from somebody's eyes. An exchange of looks. A smile." I just know it's beautiful. And powerful. And emotional. Honestly, if this book doesn't make you feel something , then you're dead ...

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to hold an actual new Peanuts comic book published during my lifetime. I wish it could have been published during Charles Schulz' lifetime too, but it's a great first effort by Kaboom! and I agree with everything  Peanuts book expert Nat Gertler has to say in his review.

  BATMAN AND ROBIN  #1 – 4  (DC Comics)  Peter J. Tomasi, writer.  Patrick Gleason, penciller.  Mick Gray, inker.  John Kalisz, colorist.  Patrick Brosseau, letterer. This book was a nice discovery for me as well as a welcome surprise.           What interests me most about this title is the relationship between father Bruce Wayne and son Damien Wayne.  It’s about respect, trust, teamwork and bridging the generation gap. It’s very much like any real-world family once the children begin to mature and think for themselves,  which usually occurs at the same time they begin to feel a little self-confident and independent.  Writer Peter J. Tomasi has a young son to help influence his characterization of Robin - - and that kind of high value experience helps to make the father-son exchanges in this book seem realistic.  So, what happens in BATMAN AND ROBIN?: In the opening Bruce deci...

  BATMAN  #1 – 4  (DC)  Scott Snyder, writer.  Greg Capullo, penciller & cover.  Jonathan Glapion, inker.  Fco Plascencia, colors.  Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt, letters.  Batman created by Bob Kane. I’m reading several Batman-family titles and enjoying them all.  But the one I look forward to the most right now is BATMAN by Snyder and Capullo.  The artist-writer team is dynamic and doing some of their best work.  Greg Capullo’s style is perfect for this title.  Scott Snyder’s writing has a feel as if he has been writing this character for decades instead of just a few years.  (I also recommend you check out his work on the current SWAMP THING , another worthwhile DC NEW 52 title.) So, what happens in this book? . . . . . Bruce Wayne makes a major announcement regarding his role in the future of Gotham City (a very impressive speech and a nice piece of writing) and strikes a partner...